The Intelligence of Plumbing: I enjoyed this reading, i liked how it showed a field that many people take for granted and would never consider it a trade to go into. It displayed well that even though it’s not an intellectual field you still need to be skilled to do so. I like to describe it as a subject matter expert. In order to do your job well you must know everything there is to know about your field and be constantly willing to accept new challenges and learn more about it. The protégé in these stories were very motivated to do their job and do it well. They worked together to accomplish goals and showed much desire to learn more.
Freshman year: This reading shined light on problems that i didn’t even really consider until reading it. For example when she was doing interviews with international students and they mentioned how "hey how are you?" and "see you soon" are most often misleading. In some cultures this would be used as a legitimate conversation starter and we use them as every day greetings with no real meaning behind them. I can see how this can seem very rude to someone who does not understand American customs. I also liked how it showed differences in how different cultures view education and their approaches on it. there was a part early in the reading where it said that students go to class to get grades and rush out of class directly afterword’s and don’t stick around to ask questions. then it goes on to talk about how we use a lot of multiple choice test and how we could deduce an answer and still have a decent chance of passing whereas a lot of cultures use essay based tests where you would have to show that you legitimately understood and know the information. And in all reality this seems like the better option. I think that we as a nation do seem to have kind of a "let’s just get through it" mindset from all sides students, teachers, and the work force that wants to hire those with degrees. I find it sad that in the "Worldliness and worldview" section how real the accusations are about American ignorance of other countries and cultures. We seem to be very about ourselves and have little interest in things that aren’t happening here and now. Gives Americans an image not only of ignorance but arrogance as well.
I enjoyed this reading, i liked how it showed a field that many people take for granted and would never consider it a trade to go into. It displayed well that even though it’s not an intellectual field you still need to be skilled to do so. I like to describe it as a subject matter expert. In order to do your job well you must know everything there is to know about your field and be constantly willing to accept new challenges and learn more about it. The protégé in these stories were very motivated to do their job and do it well. They worked together to accomplish goals and showed much desire to learn more.
Freshman year:
This reading shined light on problems that i didn’t even really consider until reading it. For example when she was doing interviews with international students and they mentioned how "hey how are you?" and "see you soon" are most often misleading. In some cultures this would be used as a legitimate conversation starter and we use them as every day greetings with no real meaning behind them. I can see how this can seem very rude to someone who does not understand American customs.
I also liked how it showed differences in how different cultures view education and their approaches on it. there was a part early in the reading where it said that students go to class to get grades and rush out of class directly afterword’s and don’t stick around to ask questions. then it goes on to talk about how we use a lot of multiple choice test and how we could deduce an answer and still have a decent chance of passing whereas a lot of cultures use essay based tests where you would have to show that you legitimately understood and know the information. And in all reality this seems like the better option. I think that we as a nation do seem to have kind of a "let’s just get through it" mindset from all sides students, teachers, and the work force that wants to hire those with degrees.
I find it sad that in the "Worldliness and worldview" section how real the accusations are about American ignorance of other countries and cultures. We seem to be very about ourselves and have little interest in things that aren’t happening here and now. Gives Americans an image not only of ignorance but arrogance as well.